Two things make the Lenox disappointing - the potential for greatness and the fact that occasionally other customers see moments of brilliance. I sadly didn't.

I usually stay at the Renaissance Waterfront when visiting Boston but, on this instance I thought I'd treat myself to someone right in the city centre. I won't be making that mistake again...

My visit didn't start well when I was left to drag my heavy suitcase up a flight of stairs by the porters. "Maybe they didn't see me", I thought optimistically but things didn't really improve from then onwards.

Room 912 is very very small by American standards with a bathroom that can only be a converted closet (about 3 foot wide at its widest point, no I'm not kidding, try measuring it) but perfectly acceptable for just a couple of days stay. If you get a chance, have a look at the emergency fire evacuation plan on the back of your room door and check out the size of rooms 12 (and 02 too I think) compared to the surrounding rooms and you'll get an idea of the disparity of room sizes. Lets hope everyone doesn't pay the same.

What disappointed me wasn't the room size or courtesy but attention to detail. For example, my free wi-fi didn't work during my stay. All all. Ever. At no point did anyone from guest services ever contact me to tell me what the problem was, tell me that the wi-fi was in fact permanently broken or offer a solution. Every day I would call guest services numerous times to alert them to the fact that, yes, the wi-fi still didn't work and they would go through a song-and-dance about re-setting the server yet again. \At no point did resetting the server work but, several times a day we went through the same process (with the occasionally change of pace of getting through to technically who confirmed that the problem was with the hotel, not my computer).

Eventually, at 9:30pm on my last night, still refusing to admit that the wi-fi was broken they admitted that the router was in another guest's room and, in sheer frustration at the number of times he had been bothered, he had put his "do not disturb" sign on his door. Why guest services thought resetting the router would fix the problem when it never had before I don't know but, still no wi-fi. The only alternative was to move me - at 9:30pm at night. Unsurprisingly, as I had to check out at 4am I wasn't keen to do this. Again, no apology, no explanation as to why no one had told me at any point in my stay that the wi-fi was actually broken or explaition why I had had to keep calling up numerous times every day. I gave up waiting for any kind of explanation and went to bed.

There were no facilities in the room to make yourself a hot drink. I'm not suggesting I wanted to make myself a massimo soy chocolattino - a simple instant black coffee would have been nice. Surely a mug, spoon, mini-kettle and sachet of instant powder wasn't too extravagant for $200 a night? Apparently so. Instead, sitting in the middle of the room was a free standing fridge rumbling away to itself. No drinks unit; no cans of soda or mini bottles; no mini-bar; no little basket of over-priced peanuts and popcorn; just a fridge, on its own, rumbling away.

There was only one power socket available in the entire room which made juggling ipod, ipad, ipad and ilife an interesting experience. I've no idea why there was only one power socket - perhaps the closet is giving away its origins again? How many ipods can sweaters and socks have?

Wallpaper was peeling away from most of the walls and the tie backs for the curtains were torn and frayed, as though they had been used as a chew toy by someone's pet.

By themselves I would have been able to ignore any of these issues as minor - even 5 star hotels get a bit frayed and dated around the edges from time to time but the general lack of courtesy and attention to detail meant that the issue built and built until they made for a disappointing overall stay.

When I left I gave reception a list of maintenance problems with room 912 that needed to be fixed - no doubt the list went straight in the bin and I was immediately written off as a crackpot and instantly forgotten. I really hope that others who stay see the Lenox in full glory and not the shabby, dated, worn and generally disinterested hotel I saw.

Boston is too beautiful a city to miss but it'll take a lot to convince me to leave the Waterfront again after this experience of the Lenox.

From the minute I stepped out of the taxicab, I was treated like a queen, from every single staff member of the Lenox Hotel. No request was too large. The intimate atmosphere, friendliness of the staff, lovely room and excellent bar all combined to make my stay superb. Thank you to Ashley, Nina, Jonathan and Mallory for a fantastic stay.

I came to Boston for 2 days on business and stayed at the Lenox because of it's proximity to where I needed to be. I chose the hotel due to it's high rating, and got a good price.

The hotel is not very big, but that is good.... it's in a great location right on Boylston near the Pru. You can walk to a lot of the attractions in Boston, but also close to public transportation if so inclined.

I parked my car with the valet, which at $45/night wasn't cheap, but heard that nearby parking garages are in the $30/night range, so not too bad considering I didn't have to park or get the car myself. The valet service was fast when I needed to get my car, and they always were polite and attentive.

The room was a little small, but it served it's purpose. It was clean, the bed and bedding were nice and comfortable. It had a large walk in closet, which is actually great, because you can put all your luggage/clothes in there and not have to worry about keeping them around the room.

The bathroom was small as well, but was well appointed and had good products in it.

I ordered in room dining for breakfast on the first morning, and it was delivered on time and was quite good. Day two I went down to City Table (the hotel restaurant) and had breakfast there. It was also very good. The prices were not bad at all considering it was downtown Boston.

All in all, I had a very pleasant stay at the Lenox and would certainly come back when I am in Boston again and want to stay in the Back Bay.

What an experience!!!!!! We spent 2 nights in the Lexon in November 2012 and couldn't ask for more. Despite the age of the building, the lifts are very quick. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and the City Bar was very cosy but the most efficient service by our waitress Kristy ever, we were never waiting for anything, made us feel like VIP's which is always nice when you are away from home. The hotel is also an easy walk from most attractions and cool eateries.